The state of poverty of the south of Italy during the 16th century is well documented and so it is interesting to investigate exactly how Charles V managed to fund the costly fortifications which were erected in that period in several locations on the coast of The Kingdom of Naples. One answer is provided by a contemporary document, entitled «Partitura de la Portatura», stored in the State Archive of Naples (Italy). The Section of the document pertaining to the fortification of Crotone (southern Italy) reveals that part of the labor force and the funds were furnished by the immediate surroundings of the fortification. The levy criterion was directly proportional to the number of inhabitants and inversely proportional to the distance from the construction site for a maximum radius of 199 miles. Therefore the geometric logic that informed the levy criterion was the same as the one that oriented the siege defense of the fortified city. In fact, the size and shape of the bastion were dictated by the trajectory of the projectiles which was the basis of the well-known “Trace Italienne”.
"Partitura de la portatura": how the financial burden and the workload were shared in order to build the majestic military fortifications in the 16th century
ROSSI, Adriana
2016
Abstract
The state of poverty of the south of Italy during the 16th century is well documented and so it is interesting to investigate exactly how Charles V managed to fund the costly fortifications which were erected in that period in several locations on the coast of The Kingdom of Naples. One answer is provided by a contemporary document, entitled «Partitura de la Portatura», stored in the State Archive of Naples (Italy). The Section of the document pertaining to the fortification of Crotone (southern Italy) reveals that part of the labor force and the funds were furnished by the immediate surroundings of the fortification. The levy criterion was directly proportional to the number of inhabitants and inversely proportional to the distance from the construction site for a maximum radius of 199 miles. Therefore the geometric logic that informed the levy criterion was the same as the one that oriented the siege defense of the fortified city. In fact, the size and shape of the bastion were dictated by the trajectory of the projectiles which was the basis of the well-known “Trace Italienne”.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
